Friday, April 11, 2014

Chew #1: Taster's Choice by John Layman

I have heard so much chatter about Chew by John Layman that I decided I had better pick it up and give it a try.  I obviously did not pay much attention to the details, however, because as soon as I started reading I was in shock and a bit of disgust.  Let me give you a quick, spoiler-free synopsis to give you an idea . . .

Tony Chu has an unique talent that he keeps to himself.  He is what is called a Cibopathic - an individual who can see things by ingesting them.  Sometimes, these things are as simple as the orchard that an apple came from.  Other times, it can be the butchering of an animal.  And yet, there are times that he can see so, so much more, and it is then that his talent comes in handy for his job with the Special Crimes Division of the FDA.

Chew has a very different and intriguing concept, but it is also one that is violent and gruesome.  There were a couple of parts that literally made me gag while reading.  I think it is the combination of food and gore that caused this reaction because the gore usually does not affect me as it did in this book.

The question is . . . Will I continue to read Chew?  I think so.  The concept is grossly fascinating.  The next time I will be better prepared for what to expect.  I will likely take my time in reading them though.  I think this is a series you have to slowly savor; not devour without time to digest.  I will likely not try to read this one while eating either!

Have you tried Chew?  What did you think?

6 comments:

  1. The subsequent volumes are less overtly disgusting than the first volume. It was gross in spades. This was a 3-star series for me until I got to book 3. Things really seemed to take off then, so I'm eager to try book 4.

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    1. Andi ... I don't think it would have been as bad if I knew more about it going in. That is my own fault because I just saw people raving about it in general without paying attention to the details. I have a few more books in the series from the library, but haven't gotten to them yet. Maybe the readathon will be a good time for them! :)

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  2. Hahaha, like you I've seen a lot of raves about this series and didn't really have a good sense of what the premise was. Okay. I will try to steel myself for it and give it a try, because Andi's not the only person who's said that it really takes off later in the series. (Ick though.)

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    1. Jenny @ Reading the End ... I think you would get a better initial response if you had a better idea of what you were getting into. Can't wait to hear what you think when you do get to it though!

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  3. Sounds intriguing, but not one I'll likely seek out. However, if I run into it at the library I'm sure I won't be able to resist.

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    1. Chris Wolak ... I hear that it gets better as the series progresses, so I did get a few more volumes from the library. I guess we will see how it goes from there!

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